Galway City and County Libraries

Galway City Library is an excellent resource for assisting you in your research. Assets include the 1901 and 1911 Census on microfilm, a collection of archived local newspapers and a selection of books on the local history of Galway.

These centres transcribe and computerise Griffith's Valuation, census records, and church and civil records relating to their areas. These centres also provide for a fee, an ancestry tracing service for the public. For more information visit:

Ireland Reaching Out

The Ireland Reaching Out (Ireland XO) project is based on a simple idea; instead of waiting for people of Irish descent to trace their roots, they go the other way. Working through voluntary effort at a townland, village and parish level here in Ireland, they identify who left, and trace them and their descendants worldwide, proactively engaging with them and inviting them to become part of an extended "virtual" community with their place of origin. Visit the website to see if the parish or townland where your ancestors are from has a Reaching Out community project.

The National Library has a large collection of church, land and property records. Furthermore it has archives of newspapers, directories, maps and local and family histories. The NLI does not offer a research service to readers or correspondents but there are private researchers willing to carry out research on a fee paying basis. For more visit their website at:

Not sure where to start with your research. The National Library of Ireland offers an informative Getting Started guide. See it here.

The Gathering 2013

The Gathering Ireland 2013 will be a spectacular, year-long celebration of all things Irish. Throughout 2013, Ireland will open its arms to hundreds of thousands of friends and family from all over the world, calling them home to gatherings in villages, towns and cities. To learn more check out their website: